Apparatus for use in cooking food patties

Abstract

An apparatus for use in cooking food includes a hollow tube for receiving food to be cooked and spacer members disposed in the hollow tube. The food and spacer members are alternately placed into the hollow tube, in a similar orientation as coins are arranged in a roll of coins. The spacer members facilitate the conduction of heat to the surfaces of the food. Each item of food has a spacer member or a lid member abutting to it to receive heat from the abutting spacer member and/or lid member as well as from the wall of the hollow tube. The hollow tube can also receive one or more lids. When in use, the hollow tube is placed directly on a cooking surface or is attached to a rotisserie to cook the food. The orientation of the food when in the apparatus reduces the amount of cooking surface required for cooking.

1 . An apparatus for use in cooking food, comprising: 
 at least one spacer member; and    a tube having an internal cavity adapted for receiving an item of food and the at least one spacer member within the internal cavity of the tube.    
   
   
       2 . The apparatus as set forth in  claim 1  further comprising means for maintaining the planar orientation of a food item and the planar orientation of the at least one spacer member in substantially the same plane as the plane of a transverse cross-section of the tube.  
   
   
       3 . The apparatus as set forth in  claim 1  wherein the at least spacer member and the transverse cross-section of the tube have generally the same shape as a food item to be cooked.  
   
   
       4 . The apparatus as set forth in  claim 1  wherein the transverse cross-section of the tube is substantially circular and the shape of the at least one spacer member is substantially circular.  
   
   
       5 . The apparatus as set forth in  claim 1  wherein 
 the tube has a tubular wall forming a boundary of the cavity and the wall is intersected by at least one aperture; and    the dimension of at the least one aperture is limited whereby a food item and the at least one spacer member cannot extend outside the interior of the tube    through the at least one aperture.    
   
   
       6 . The apparatus as set forth in  claim 1  and wherein the at least one spacer member comprises two planar outer plates and means for keeping the outer plates a fixed distance apart.  
   
   
       7 . The apparatus as set forth in  claim 6  wherein the fixed distance is in the range of about 1 millimeter to about 20 millimeters.  
   
   
       8 . The apparatus as set forth in  claim 6  wherein the outer plates are intersected by at least one aperture.  
   
   
       9 . The apparatus as set forth in  claim 6  wherein the means for keeping the outer plates a fixed distance apart comprises a plurality of rods of extending between the outer plates, with the rods disposed substantially perpendicular to the plane of the outer plates.  
   
   
       10 . The apparatus as set forth in  claim 1 , further comprising a planar end member wherein the end member is permanently affixed to one of the longitudinal ends of the tube whereby the end member closes off the pocket on one end of the tube.  
   
   
       11 . The apparatus as set forth in  claim 10  wherein the end member is intersected by at least one aperture.  
   
   
       12 . The apparatus as set forth in  claim 1  further comprising at least one lid member adapted to receivably attach to a longitudinal end of the tube.  
   
   
       13 . The apparatus as set forth in  claim 12  wherein the at least one lid member is intersected by at least one aperture.  
   
   
       14 . The apparatus as set forth in  claim 6  wherein the means for keeping the outer plates a fixed distance apart comprises a band of substantially uniform width extending between the outer plates along the circumference of the outer plates.  
   
   
       15 . The apparatus as set forth in  claim 1  further comprising means for attaching the tube to a rotisserie apparatus, whereby the rotisserie apparatus is adapted to rotate the tube relative to a heat source.  
   
   
       16 . An apparatus for use in cooking a food item, comprising: 
 a cooking tube having a pocket for holding a food item and a spacer member; and    at least one spacer member disposed within the pocket for heat transfer engagement with a food item disposed in the pocket.    
   
   
       17 . An apparatus for use in cooking a food item, comprising: 
 at least one spacer member;    a hollow tube having a longitudinal end portion for receiving a food item and the at least one spacer member within the interior of the hollow tube;    at least one lid member removably attached to the longitudinal end portion;    the at least one spacer member each including two planar outer plates and means for keeping the outer plates a fixed distance apart;    the at least spacer member and the transverse cross-section of the hollow tube being substantially circular;    the at least one spacer member is adapted to snugly fit into the hollow tube; and wherein the wall of the hollow tube is intersected by at least one aperture,    the at least one aperture having a dimension whereby the food item and the at least one spacer member cannot extend outside the interior of the hollow tube through the aperture;    the outer plates are intersected by at least one aperture; and the lids are intersected by at least one aperture.    
   
   
       18 . The apparatus as set forth in  claim 1  further comprising means coupled to the hollow tube for supporting the tube at an elevated position relative to a heat source.  
   
   
       19 . The apparatus as set forth in  claim 1  further comprising a cooking attachment comprising a second spacer member and a tube extending perpendicular from the second spacer member, whereby an annular space is formed within the hollow tube when the cooking attachment is received in the hollow tube.  
   
   
       20 . An apparatus for use in cooking a plurality of food items, comprising: 
 a cooking tube having a pocket for receiving a plurality of food items and one or more spacer members;    one or more spacer members disposed within the pocket for heat transfer engagement with a plurality of food items disposed in the pocket; and    means coupled to the cooking tube for supporting the tube at an elevated position relative to a heat source.